Manifolding attachment poe typewriters



' 1,632,362 June H. MOL. ARMISTEAD v MANIFOLDING ATTACHMENT FORTYPEWRITERS Filed May 20, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheep l ATTORNEYS.

H i Y H, M l A M E D MA FQLDINCi ATTACHMENT FOR TYPEWRITBRS' Filed May20, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEYS.

Patented dune l i, lQEZ.

HUBERT MGLEAN AEMISTEAD, OF SAIL? ERAECISOQ, CthLIFC-RN'IA, ASSIGNOR TOMANI- FOLD IMPRESSIONS CORPORATION, OF CARSON CITY, NEVADA, ACORPORATION OF NEVADA.

IVIANIFOLDING ATTACHMENT FOR TYPEWRITERS Application filed May 20, 1925.Serial No. 31,525.

My invention relates to that class of typewriters and liketype-impression machines with which are associated manitolding a"-tachments, employing ribbon-bearing arms, movable in such wise as tocarry the manit'olding ribbon or ribbons into and out of functionalposition in the line of type impact.

This movement of the ribbons is in an arcuate path so closely related tothe path of the paper ad ancing from the. line of type impact, thatunless prevent've means are provided, the paper is likely to come incontact with the ribbons when the latter are out of use in theirthrown-back or elevated position; and as it is customary for the ribbonsto have a vibration or oscillation even when in this position, they maytend to blur the paper.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide a novel guard of acharacter and form to furnish not only a means for separatingtheadvancing typed paper from the mani'folding ribbons when the latter areout of use, but also to serve a tablet upon which erasures. on the papermay be conveniently made.

Another object of my invention lies in positioning said guard withrelation to the platen in such wise that it still l aves an adequateportion of the platen itselt clear to serve as a surface against whicherasures maybe made, so that said guard in its function as an erasingsupport is supplemental to the erasing support function of the platen,it being possible to maize erasures upon either or both the guard andthe platen.

in machines of this nature, there are also paper guide fingers, theroller ends of which hold the paper to the platen. These fingers when infunctioning position lie in the path of movement oi the manifoldingribbons, and unless means be provided to timely remove them from suchpath they would intercept the ribbons.

Accordingly, another object of my inven tion is to provide novel meanstimely operating with the ribbon operating means for moving such paperguide fingers out of the path of the ribbons.

Another object of my invention is to provide means for moving the paperguard out of the path of the ribbons and to so associate said means withthe means for controlling the paper guide fingers, that both guard andlingers are timely operated with the movement of the ribbons.

The return of both paper guard and guide fingers may be efitectedmanually, or, if desired, automatically, and, therefore, in thelattercase, another object 01" my invention is to provide means to thisend.

The nature of my improvements and the manner in which they attain theseveral objects sought will be fully ascertained from the followingspecification, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, inwhich Fig. 1 is a front elevation, broken, of a platen showing theapplication thereto of my improvements.

Fig. 2 is an end View of the platen with its turning knob and theribbons and ribbon a ms omitted, showing my improvements arranger. forthe manual return of the paper guard and guide fingers.

Fig. 3 is a similar end view showing the arrangement for the automaticreturn of said guard and fingers.

It will be of advantage at the outset, to state that my invention isclosely related to the manifolding platen of Patent No. 1,502.178, July22, 1924, Serial Number 664,814, filed September 26, 1923, whichdiscloses swinging arms, carrying manifolding ribbons, paper guidefingers for holding the paper to the platen, and guide plates forproteeting the uprising paper from the ribbons when elevated, togetherwith means operating in time with the movement or" the ribbons r'ormoving both paper guide fingers and guide plates out of the path of theribbons. Reference may, if desired, be had to said patent andparticularly to Figs. 3, 13 and 15 of the drawings thereof, in order notonly to supplement the distinctions which I shall make herein between myimprovements and those of said patent, but also to avoid unnecessaryprolixity in description and drawings particularly with relation to thearm operating means which in detail form no part of my invention, andare in fact substantially the same as in said patent.

The paper fingers in said patent depend from a support above the platen,and are carried by the same rocking bar which carries the ribbon guardplates, so that both fin ers and plates may be operated by the roe ingof said bar.

But when the paper fin ers are carried by abar located in front 0 theplaten below the line of type impact, as in many machines, it isapparent that in order to operate both the fingers and the 'uard memberspecial means must be provided. To such means one feature of myinvention is directed.

Again, in the patent referred to, the guard plates are relatively narrowstrips. Another feature of my invention is to make the guard member inthe shape or form of a com lete apron or shield so that it may, in adit-ion to its function as a guard, be used as a tablet on which erasuresmay be conveniently made.

With the foregoing explanations in view the drawings may now bedescribed.

1 is the platen carriage, in which is mounted by means of the shaft 2,the platen 3. A turning knob 4 is shown on one end of the shaft. In Fig.1, 5 indicates a casing associated with the platen, ateach end. In thesecasings are housed the operating mechanism for the arms which carry themanifolding ribbons, said arms which are indicated by 6, playing inperipheral slots 7 of ,the easings, their outer extremities carrying themanifolding ribbons 8. There are three such ribbons here shown, one ofwhich has been carried down to functional position in the line of typeimpact, the others remaining elevated. As the means for thus moving'thearms and ribbons form no part of my invention, and as such means are inpractise those of the patent referred to, I have not herein shown them,deeming it sufficient to say that they are actuated by the independentrotary .movement of the sleeve 9 carried on the platen shaft 2, andmoved by the knob 10, such showing of the sleeve and its knob servingthe further necessary purpose in connection with the operating means ofthe paper fingers and the protecting shield, which form my inventionherein.

Rising from each end of the platen carriage 1, are the standards 11between the upper extremities of which is carried a rock shaft 12. Uponthis shaft 12 is fixed the ribbon shield 13, said shield being in theform of a continuous uniformly smooth surfaced plate or apron extendingdown to the platen for the full length of the latter, as shown in Fig.1.

When the manifolding ribbons 8 are in elevated position they lie behindthe shield 13, as seen in Fig. 1, and therefore the uprising paper,guided by the shield, as it leaves the platen, passes outside and uponthe shield wholly free from contact with the ribbons. The shield bybeing made in the form of a complete apron extending the length of theplaten, instead of, as heretofore being in the form of relatively narrowstrips or plates, may be usedas a tablet upon which to conveniently makeerasures upon the paper lying upon it. It will also be noted that theshield is so disposed that it leaves a sufficient surface of the platenclear and exposed to serve as an erasure support, so that either theplaten surface or the shield surface or both may be used for erasures.

For a further protection of the ribbons when in elevated position, Ipivotally hang from the rock shaft .12, a guard plate 14 which preventsany accidental contact with said ribbons of the paper when being enteredat the back of the platen.

Mounted in the platen carriage 1 in front of the platen and below itsline of type impact is a rock shaft 15, upon which are mounted the paperfingers 16 which extend upwardly in front of the platen and carr intheir upper ends the presser rolls 17 whic bear upon the paper above theimpact line.

There are as usual two of these fingers and they are mounted on theshaft in such wise that they may be moved independently along the sahft,and will also rock therewith.

As both the shield 13 and the presser rolls 17 of the lingers 16 lie,when in functional position, close to the platen. they are in the pathof movement of the ribbons as the latter (lQSCGHll to functionalposition and as they rise to a position out of use. Means must,therefore, be provided to lift them out of said ribbon path to allow theribbons to pass, and to return them again when the ribbons have passed.These means are best tied up to the ribbon-arm operating means, so thata single movement will timely effect the complete operation, and saidmeans may be wholly or partially automatic, as I shall now describe.

Referring particularly to Fig. 2, there is pivoted at 18 to one of thestandards 11 a bell crank lever, which is shown as comprising two arms,the lower arm being designated by 19 and the upper arm by 20. The upperend of the arm 20 is pivoted at 21 to the end of a crank 22 fixed on therock shaft 12 of the ribbon shield 13. A spring 23 extending between thecenters 18 and 21 is adapted by throwing past center to hold the shieldup or down as the case may be.

Upon the sleeve 9 which, as heretofore stated, is the prime mover foroperating the ribbon arms is a cam 2-1 which acts upon the lower end ofthe bell crank. lower arm 19, and thus effects the lifting of the shield13 from the path of the ribbons, the cam being so timed as to effect thelifting in advance of the down-moving or of the retiring ribbon. In thiscase, because of the designated position of the controlling spring 23and the delineated shape of the cam, the return of the shield after theribbon has passed, is effected manually, by simply springing it downunother end of the spring being attached at the point 29 to the platencarriage. This spring by throwing past center is adapted to hold thepaper fingers either to or from the platen, andi as in the case of theribbon shield, the cam effects the lifting of the paper-fingers, whilethe return of said lingers is effected by slight manual pressure. If itbe desired, however, to have both the lifting and return of the shieldand the fingers wholly automatic upon the movement of the sleeve 9, itis only necessary to change the points of attachments of the respectivesprings 23 and 28., and to substitute a cam of proper shape. This I showin Fig. 3. In this form there is a spring 30 which connects the lowerarm 19 of the bell-crank which controls the movement of the ribbonshield with the standard 11, said spring thus normally holding theshield down.

Similarly there is a spring 31 connecting the arm 25 which controls themovement of the pap-er fingers with a fixed point 32, so that saidfingers are normally held to the platen. A cam 33 of proper shape isthen supplied on the sleeve 9 which will effect the lifting of theshield and the fingers and V will allow their return automatically. Thecontrolling springs 23 and 28 thus yieldingly lock the shield and thepaper fingers at both extremes of their movement.

I claim 1. In a manifolding device for typewriters, the combination of amanifolding member associated with the platen-carriage of the machine.and adapted to be depressed to functional position in the line oftypeimpact and to be elevated therefrom; and a shield plate mounted onthe platen-carriage and overlying approximately the full length of theplaten above the elevated position of the manifolding member, andadapted. to deflect the uprising paper from the platen and separate itfrom said elevated manifolding member.

2. In a manifolding device for typewriters ,.the combination of swingingarms associated with the platen-carriage of the machine; a manifoldingmember carried by said arms and adapted to be depressed to functionalposition in the line of type impact and to be elevated therefrom; arotatable member for operating said arms; a shield plate mounted on saidplaten-carriage overlying approxin'iatcly the full length of the platenabove the elevated position of the manifolding member, the forward edgeof said plate lying close to the platen, to

deflect the uprising paper from said platen and separate it from saidelevated manifold ing member; and means actuated by the rotatablearm-operating member for adjusting the forward edge of said shield platerelativelyto the platen surface in timely relation to the travel of themanifolding memher.

3. In manifolding device for typewrit ers, the combination of swingingarms associated with the platen-carriage of the machine; a manifoldingmember carried by said arms and adapted to be depressed to functionalposition in the line of type impact and to be elevated therefrom; arotatable member for operating said arms; a shield plate mounted on saidplaten-carriage overlying the length of the platen above the elevatedposition of the manifolding men1- her, the forward edge of said platelying close to the platen, to deflect the uprising paper from saidplaten and separate it from said elevated manifolding member; and meansactuated by the rotatable arm-operating member for adjustin the forwardedge of said shield plate relatively to the platen surface in timelyrelation to the travel of the manifolding member, said means coniprisinga rocking bar mounted on the platen carriage and upon which said shieldplate is carried, a cam on the rotatable arm-operating member, andmotion-transmitting devices between said cam and said rocking bar.

at. In a manifolding device for typewrlt ers, the combination ofswinging arms mounted on the platen-carriage of the machine; amanifoldin member carried by said arms and adapter to be moved into andout of functional position in the line of type impact; a rotatablemember for operating said arms; paper guide fingers on the platencarriage lying normally in the path of the manifolding member; a rockingbar upon which said fingers are carried, adapted to vary the relation ofthe fingers with respect to the platen surface; a cam on the rotatablearm-operating member; and motion-transmitting devices between said camand said rocking bar, adapted to move said fingers to and from theplaten in timely relation to the travel of the manifolding member.

5. In a manifolding device for typewriters the combination of swingingarms mounted on the platen-carriage of the, machine; a' rotatable memberfor operating said arms; a manifolding member carried by said arms andadapted to be depressed to functional position in the line of typeimpact and to be elevated therefrom; a shield plate m 'erlying theplaten above the elevated position of the manifolding member the forwardedge of said shield plate lying close to the platen and adapted todefiect the uprising paper from the platen and separate it from saidelevated manifolding memill) her; paper guide fingers rising from theplaten-carriage below the platen and crossing the line of type impact,the extremities of said fingers normally bearing on the platen abovesaid line; and means actuated by said rotatable arm-operating member foradjusting the forward edge of the shield plate, and for adjusting saidpaper guidefingers. relatively to the platen surface, in timely relationto the travel of the manifolding member.

6. In a manifolding device for typewriters the combination of swingingarms mounted on the platen-carriage of the machine; a rotatable memberfor operating said arms; a manifolding member carried by said arms andadapted to be depressed to functionalv position in the line of typeimpact and to be elevated therefrom; a shield plate overlying the platenabove the elevated position of the manifolding member, the forward edgeof said shield plate lying close to the platen and adapted to deflectthe uprising paper from the platen and separate it from said elevatedmanifolding member: paper guide fingers rising from the platencarriagebelow the platen and crossing the line of type impact, the extremitiesof said fingers normally bearing on the platen above said line; andmeans actuated by said rotatable arm-operating member for adjusting theforward edge of the shield plate, and for adjusting said paper guidefingers, relatively to the platen surface, in timely relation to thetravel of the manifolding member. said means comprising a rocking barupon which the shield plate is carried; a separate rocking bar on whichthe paper guide fingers are carried; a cam on said rotatablearm-operating member; and separate motion transmitting devices betweensaid cam and said rocking bars res ectively.

7. In a manifolding device or typewriters the combination of swingingarms mounted on the platen-carriage of the machine; a rotatable memberfor operating said arms; a manifolding member carried by said arms andadapted to be depressed to functional position in the line of typeimpactand to be elevated therefrom; a shield plate overlying the platenabove the elevated position of the manifolding member, the forward edgeof said shield plate lying close to the platen and adapted to deflectthe uprising paper from the platen and separate it from said elevatedmanifolding member; paper guide fingers rising from the platencarriagebelow the platen and crossing the line of type impact, the extremitiesof said fingers normally bearing on the platen above said line; andmeans actuated by said rotatable arm-operating member for adjusting theforward edge of the shield plate, and for adjusting said paper guidefingers, relatively to the platen surface, in timely relation to thetravel of the manifolding member, said means com rising a rocking barupon which the shied plate is carried; a separate rocking bar on whichthe paper guide fingers are carried; a cam on said rotatablearm-operating member; and separate motion transmittingdevices betweensaid cam and said rocking bars respectively, said devices includingspring members adapted for variable positioning to render the adjustmentof the shield plate and the fingersiautomatic in whole or in part atwill.

8. In a manifolding device for tipswriters, the combination of a manifolmg member associated with the platen-carriage of the machine and adaptedto be depressed to functional position in the line of t pe impact and tobe elevated therefrom; a ar mounted on the platen carriage above andback of the platen; a shield plate carriedby said bar and overlying theelevated osition of the manifolding member, With Its forward edge lyingclose to the platen to separate the uprising paper from said manifoldingmember; and a guard plate depending from said bar and closing in theback of the space formed by said overlying shield plate.

9. In typewriters and like type-impression devices having a platen, arecord-sheet deflecting-member adapted for movement to and fromfunctional association with said platen; a movable manifolding memberassocited with the platen; and means for automatically moving saiddeflecting member both to and from its functional position upon themovement of the manifolding member and in timely relation thereto.

10. In typewriters and like type-impression devices having a platen,theicombination of a paper guide adapted for movement to and fromfunctional association with said platen; a record'sheet deflectingmember adapted for movement. to and from functional association withsaid platen; a movable Inanifolding member associated with the platen;and means for automatically moving said paper guide and said deflectingmember both to and from their positions upon' the movement of themanifolding member and in timely relation thereto.

11. In typewriters and like type-impression devices having a platen, thecombination of a paper guide adapted for movement to and from functionalassociation with said platen; a record-sheet deflecting member adaptedfor movement to and from functional association with said platen; amovable manifolding member associated with the platen; means forautomatically moving said paper guide and said deflecting member both toand from their positions upon the movement of the manifolding member andin timely relation thereto; and means for locking said paper guide andsaid deflecting member at both extremities of their movement.

12. In typewriters and like type-impression devices the combination of aplatencarriage; a platen carried thereby; a recordsheet deflecting platemounted on the platencarriage and overlying approximately the fulllength of the platen with its forward edge lying close to the platenalong a line beyond and parallel with the line of typeimpact; a rockingbar mounted on the platen carriage and upon which the deflecting plateis carried, said bar being adapted to move the forward edge of the plateto and from the platen; an operating member rotatable about the axis ofthe platen; and

means actuated by said member for locking said bar.

18. In typewriters and like type-impression devices the combination of aplatencarriage; a platen carried thereby; a recordsheet deflecting platemounted on the platen carriage and overlying approximately the fulllength of the platen with its forward edge lying close to the platenalong a line eyond and parallel with the line of typeimpact; a rockingbar mounted on the platen carriage and upon which the deflecting plateis carried, said bar being adapted to move.

the forward edge of the plate to and from the platen; an operatingmember rotatable about the axis of the platen; a cam on said member;motion-transmitting members between said cam and said rocking bar; and

a spring applied to said transmitting memsion devices, the combinationof a platencarriage; a platen carried thereby; a recordsheet deflectingplate mounted on the platen carriage and overlying approximately thefull length of the platen with its forward edge lying close to theplaten along a line beyond and parallel with the line of type impact; arocking member mounted on the platen carriage and upon which thedeflecting plate is carried, said member being adapted to move theforward edge of the plate to and from the platen; paper guide fingersrising from the platen-carriage below the platen and crossing the lineof type impact, the extremities of said fingers normally bearing on theplaten above said line; a second rocking member mounted on theplaten-carriage and carrying said fingers; an operating member rotatableabout the axis of the platen; and means actuated by said operatingmember for oscillating said rocking members in unison.

15. In typewriters and like type-impression devices, the combination ofa platencarriage; a platen carried thereby; a recordsheet deflectingplate mounted on the platen carriage and overlying approximately thefull length of the platen with its forward edge lying close to theplaten along a line beyond and parallel with the line of type impact; arocking member mounted on the platen carriage and upon which thedeflecting plate is carried, said member being adapted to move theforward edge of the plate to and from the platen; paper guide fingersrising from the platen-carriage below the platen and crossing the lineof type impact, the extremities of said fingers normally bearing on theplaten above said line; a second rocking member mounted on theplaten-carriage and carrying said fingers; an operating member rotatableabout the axis of the platen; and means actuated by said operatingmember'for oscillating said rocking members in unison, said meanscomprising a cam on said operating member; separate levers actuated bysaid cam and adapted to oscillate the two rocking members respectively;and separate springs applied respectively to said levers and disposed tothrow past centers to resiliently hold said rocking members at thelimits of oscillation.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

HUBERT MoLEAN ARMISTEAD.

